A Miami finance startup built around sending WhatsApp messages instead of filling out bank forms has just pulled in $200 million, a bet that Latino immigrants across the U.S. are ready to trust their money to a chatbot. Félix Pago, co-founded by Venezuela native Manuel Godoy, secured $87 million in equity financing led by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz alongside $113 million in debt financing from General Catalyst, a firm based outside Boston.
The equity round, first reported by the Miami Herald, also drew participation from QED Investors, the Alexandria, Virginia-based firm co-founded by Capital One co-founder Nigel Morris. Ali Yahya, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz — often shortened to a16z, the firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz — said the firm is “incredibly proud to back Félix's team as it builds better, more tailored financial tools for an underserved community,” according to the Herald.
Godoy founded Félix Pago with Bernardo García, who is originally from Mexico. The pair met at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where they were MBA students when they conceived the company, and both now live in Miami. According to the Wharton School, the founders secured their initial backing after participating in the school's 2021 Venture Lab Startup Challenge, drawing on their own experiences as Latino immigrants in the U.S. to shape the product.
From Remittances to a Digital Bank
Since launching in 2022, Félix Pago has processed more than $8 billion in remittances and served more than six million people, per the Herald's reporting, operating today in 11 Latin American countries. Mexico remains the company's leading market, while Colombia is described as a fast-growing one. The company says it will use the fresh equity capital to expand into new markets and to develop AI-powered products and services for Hispanic immigrants in the United States.
Under the hood, Félix Pago runs an AI chatbot inside WhatsApp that handles customer interactions, then converts U.S. dollar payments into USDC stablecoins on the backend through Circle and Bridge before delivering local currency to recipients through regional exchanges like Bitso, according to Visa. Most users never see or manage a crypto wallet — they just text.
The company's next move is a bigger leap than another market. Refresh Miami reports that Félix Pago plans to use the new funding to push beyond money transfers into consumer financial products, including short-term “Send Now Pay Later” loans, high-yield savings accounts, and an AI-powered financial assistant. The goal, per the outlet, is to build a broader set of financial tools around the daily needs of immigrant households rather than remain a single-purpose transfer app.
Chasing New Corridors
Geographically, the company is also widening its reach. Beyond its anchor markets in Mexico and Colombia, Félix Pago is expanding its remittance network into El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, according to Coinfomania. Mexico is expected to remain the platform's primary transaction corridor even as new routes open.
This round follows a fast fundraising climb. The company previously raised $75 million in a Series B round in April 2025 led by QED Investors, after a $15.5 million Series A in 2024 and a $2.8 million seed round in December 2023 that included early backers Castle Island Ventures and Switch Ventures, the same Refresh Miami reporting notes.
Why Immigrant Households Are the Target
The bet on U.S. Hispanic immigrants is grounded in a stubborn banking gap. In 2023, 9.5% of Hispanic households in the U.S. were unbanked — lacking any account at an insured bank or credit union — compared with just 1.9% of white households, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. High fees and minimum balance requirements remain key barriers keeping many families out of traditional banking.
The broader market opportunity is enormous. Remittances sent to Latin America and the Caribbean hit a record $173.7 billion in 2025, a 7.3% jump over the prior year driven by strong U.S. labor market participation among migrants, per the Inter-American Development Bank, though that growth has moderated slightly this year. Mexico alone receives roughly 40.5% of all remittance flows to the region, making it the anchor corridor for platforms like Félix Pago, according to the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
Stablecoin-based networks are part of why that shift is happening. Such systems can cut end-to-end transfer costs by 30% to 50% compared with traditional money transfer operators, keeping average fees under 1% versus a global average near 6.4% for a $200 transfer, according to Polygon — a gap that has pushed senders away from legacy providers like Western Union.
Miami's fintech scene has been drawing similar bets. In June, Miami-based card provider Karta raised $140 million to expand credit access for international and immigrant clients, as Hoodline reported, underscoring the city's role as a hub linking U.S. capital with Latin American markets. That shift mirrors a broader trend Hoodline has also tracked, as digital remittance apps overtake cash wire storefronts among senders moving their money online.
